TRANSPAC: Father and son race to Hawaii

Tim Fuller is completely at ease with the perils of sailing across the Pacific Ocean.

As for teenage son Patrick? Not quite as much.

âIâm fairly nervous about the whole thing,â he admitted.

These feelings are understandable considering the adventure this father-son duo embarks on this week. Together, with a crew of four others, the Fullers set sail for Hawaii on Thursday armed with little more than a 41-foot yacht named âResoluteâ and ocean-sized dreams for the biennial Transpacific Yacht Race. Commonly called the Transpac, the 2,225-mile (or more) course stretches from San Pedro to Honolulu.

Tim Fuller, 55, a Murrieta resident whoâs lived in Southwest County for 32 years, is competing for the 10th time â" his first race was at 19 years old in 1977. Heâs won his division four times, including 2009, when he ran with just one partner.

Patrick, a 15-year-old Murrieta Valley High School sophomore, has done little more than pitter around Catalina and the California coast with his father.

âItâs an adventure, thatâs for sure, and a challenge,â Tim Fuller said. âThis year, for me, itâs special to bring Patrick along and have him experience it.â

Nerves aside, Patrick knows he has the chance of a lifetime.

The Transpac is grueling in the nicest conditions. Itâs a round-the-clock, 10-day sail on a boat the size of a hallway. Crew members sleep in a space about as large as a coffin and endure sleep-deprived nights working in shifts to keep the boat going.

Preparation takes months, and the race itself can have more ups and downs than a wild swell.

Weather always presents the top challenge. Tim said heâs sailed through high waves, high winds and even past a water spout. Mechanical malfunctions can arise â" in 1985, Fuller said, his mast fell halfway through the race, and his crew made a makeshift mast just to crawl to the finish. A 12-day trip morphed into an 18-day marathon.

Crew members get sick. Boats wander off course. In one race, weather forced Fuller to sail due south close to Cabo San Lucas before finally turning right to get to Hawaii.

âThe worst-case scenario is that someone goes overboard, whether accidentally, or as the result of a gear failure or something like that,â Tim said. âOr just the fact that you could be injured and youâre 1,000 miles out at sea.â

The Fullers are an athletic family. Older daughter Branagan played volleyball at Murrieta Valley High and later at North Carolina Greensboro and North Carolina and now is an accomplished beach player. Patrick is an athlete, having run cross country, played tennis and baseball.

It is, however, one thing to turn on an inside fastball. Itâs quite another to turn your stomach on 10-foot plus waves that can submerge an entire boat.

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